#creaturecompendium

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Known in Africa as the "Yateveo" and in Madagascar as the "Man-Eating Tree," the Carnivorous Zoophyte is not in fact a tree but cnidarian, a distant cousin to coral polyps. Unlike marine coral these creatures do not form colonies; individual polyps are solitary and quite enormous comparatively, as marine polyps typically grow to only around 5-30mm in length.

The Zoophyte employs a "sit and wait" ambush style of predation, choosing to embed most of its body underground where it will remain for its entire life, waiting for prey to come close enough to be ensnared by its upper tentacles., which are described to be "(furious, likel starved serpents." These tentacles multiply over the Zoophyte's life; older specimens have more tentacles.

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Many decades ago, Curious Corvid Publishing commissioned us on a project to collect and compile data on specimens of obscure creatures: the mythological, the fantastical, and the cryptic. This volume is the first report of our findings, which we present to the world not to endanger these animals or make them vulnerable, but in the hopes that by lifting the shroud of unfamiliarity we might enhance humanity's ability to appreciate, celebrate, and protect the more mysterious inhabitants of this strange world. Our hope is that you will read our findings and come away with a deeper appreciation and respect for the earth and ecosystem in which you are just a passing traveller, to which you must one day inevitably return.

"Remember me as you pass by.

As you are now, so once was I;

As I am now, so you must be,